1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to apnea and more particularly to a system for controlling apnea.
2. State of Technology
U.S. Pat. No. 5,5107,855 to Reginald Harrington and Raph Crossley for an Apnea monitor for detection of a periodic sinusoidal movement issued Apr. 28, 1992 provides the following state of technology information:                “Various previous sleep apnea alarm devices have been proposed for monitoring the breathing particularly of infants during sleep but also the breathing of adults who may have breathing difficulties.”        “There are a number of areas of difficulty in such devices and these difficulties have to date substantially prevented any effective device from being available in the marketplace.”        “Firstly there is the difficulty of initially detecting the movement of the muscles. Many arrangements have used devices which detect pressure changes caused by movement of the patient on a mattress but these devices have proven to be unreliable. Alternative techniques use a band or similar equipment attached around the patient particularly in the thoracic area. The extension and contraction of the band is then detected in some cases by strain gauges and in other cases by movement of one element which varies a capacitive coupling. Again these devices have proven to be unreliable.”        “A second area of difficulty relates to the communication of the information from the detecting device to a receiving device mounted separately from the patient. In most cases a wire coupling is used but this is of course highly unsatisfactory and it can restrict movement of the patient and can be dangerous should the patient become entangled in the wire coupling.”        “A third area of difficulty relates to the analysis of the information from the detection device mounted on the patient. In most cases the analysis is very simplistic and can fail to distinguish between the required breathing patterns and any other type of movement.”        “Basically therefore it is absolutely essential in a device of this type to provide a device which is reliable in that it acts to trigger an alarm whenever breathing difficulties are encountered but at the same time the device must be able to properly distinguish from other conditions caused for example by movement of the patient away from a preferred detecting location which would cause the alarm to be actuated when no emergency condition is present. Such an alarm device which produces a number of false alarms will of course rapidly lose any credibility and will no longer be used.”        
U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,846 to Bernd Graetz and Jorg Maurer for a method of controlling a respirator for treatment of sleep apnea and device for carrying out the method issued Apr. 8, 1997 provides the following state of technology information:                “A not insignificant number of people suffer from sleep disorders which have an impact on those people's well-being during the day and which partly have a significant effect on their social and professional efficiency as well as on their quality of life. One of these sleep disorders is sleep apnea, which is primarily treated with the so-called CPAP-therapy (CPAP=Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) by continuously supplying an air stream of a respiration gas to the patient during his sleep via a nasal mask. Via a tube, the mask is connected with a device for respiration comprising a ventilator that generates a gas stream with an overpressure of 5 to 20 mbar,”        “The gas stream is supplied to the patient either at a constant pressure or it is lowered to a lower pressure level in order to ease the breathing effort of the patient during exhaling. Although sleep apneas occur only briefly and are only a very small portion of the sleeping period, the ventilator in both methods runs during the entire sleeping period (night) and thus renders the acceptance of this sleep apnea treatment difficult.”        
U.S. Pat. No. 7,644,714 to Robert E. Atkinson and Chad J. Kugler for a method of controlling devices and methods for treating sleep disorders issued Jan. 12, 2010 provides the following state of technology information:                “Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent sleep disorder affecting an estimated 18 million people in the United States, and an estimated 36 million people world wide. Furthermore, the affected population is estimated to be growing at 22% per annum. OSA is not just a quality of sleep issue. OSA has several co-morbidities that drive treatment, including heart failure, hypertension, myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes. Despite the seriousness of the condition, it is estimated that only 5% to 8% of the affected population have been diagnosed and treated.”        “Approximately 80% of the patients diagnosed with OSA are prescribed continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Although CPAP is the first line of treatment for the majority of patients and is considered the gold-standard by most practitioners, it enjoys only 30-60% average patient compliance. Approximately 10-15% of patients will have surgical treatment, but the surgical options tend to be invasive and are not always effective. Approximately 5-10% of patients will use a mandibular advancement device, but such devices tend to have limited efficacy and are often associated with joint pain.”        “Thus, there is a need for improved OSA treatment devices in terms of patient compliance, invasiveness and efficacy.”        